THE UNEMPLOYED
Before the Liberals the unemployed had a very hard time. There was high unemployment in Britain. So there fore the workers weren’t getting the skills they needed. In 1909 the labour Exchange was introduced. Labour exchanges were set-up all over the country. The unemployed had to register with their local exchange to receive their national insurance benefit, payments. Then local employers would notify the exchange of available job vacancies. By 1913 there were 430 exchanges in Britain.
There was however one problem with the labour exchange most of the jobs were temporary or part time; so the government did not do anything to increase the number of jobs available.
The national insurance act 1912 was the act which got people on the dole back on their own two feet. The scheme was open to those who were in seasonal employment only (e.g. shipbuilding, engineering) When unemployed, workers could be paid 7shillings and 6 dimes a week for 15 weeks in a year. To fund this, workers, employers and the government had to pay 2 dimes per week for insurance stamps.
Once ‘the lazy’ were in jobs they needed the national insurance act 1911. David Lloyd George introduced a system of health insurance by which all workers earning £160 or less 4dimes a week into a fund. Employers also ran a scheme which gave workers free medical care and sickness benefit for 26 weeks.
The labour exchange and the insurance act 1912 did really help the unemployed by giving them money and getting them back into jobs. Opponents did argue that giving them money whilst their not working is a bad idea and that it will make them lazier.
However, by introducing the labour exchange the unemployed were able to get back working and thus getting the skills which they needed to progress in life.
There was however one or two problems with the unemployment insurance, it only covered jobs which were in seasonal labour. The other problem was that the national insurance covered about 14 million people, but only applied to those on low incomes or those who made contributions-not their families. Another problem was that the poor had to pay contributions out of their own wages; dole and sickness pay only lasted a limited time.
The insurance act 1911 however was very successful. It gave workers free medical care and sickness benefit. It also taught them to save up by putting money every week into a fund.
CONCLUSION
The Liberal reforms had a lot of significance. They transformed Britain from a country where 30% of its people lived in poverty. They introduced acts which benefited children, the elderly and the unemployed. For children the main act which was introduced was the children’s charter. It lowered working hours for children and insured that under 16’s can’t sell tobacco, alcohol and cigarettes.
The elderly were helped by the pensions act. Unemployment insurance and labour exchanges helped the unemployed.
Many people did appose some of the reforms. Many wealthy and middle-class people apposed the reforms. They were outraged by Lloyd George’s ‘people’s budget’ of 1909 which then raised taxes. They resented paying for the reforms out of taxation. They thought that this would make the poor lazier. Most of the reforms were paid for by those who where in work.
Taking everything into account it can be seen that the Liberal reforms did try and do a lot to improve the welfare state, they effectively helped the poor, the elderly and the unemployed. Before the Liberals, the unemployed were not working and they were not given the opportunity. The elderly could not get enough money and the children were sent to workhouses to do hard manual labour for no reason. They helped children get food, limited their working hours and placed necessary restrictions. To help improve the economy the unemployed needed to be helped, they were put in jobs, given money so therefore the poverty line decreased. The elderly were also given pensions.
On the other hand, it can be seen that the reforms were not that effective. There were problems which with all three reforms. With the elderly the pensions were taken out of taxation. So the rich and wealthy argued that their hard earned money was going towards the lazy. The childrens free school meals did not really work for the reason that it was not compulsory, thus some councils did not provide meals. Then we can see the problem with unemployment. The labour exchanges was set up to get people into jobs, however the jobs were only part-time and some temporary, the government did not actually increase the number of jobs available.
So by understanding both points of view it can be seen the liberals did not help the old, the unemployed and the elderly really effectively. Yes, they did introduce acts, however there were more down sides than advantages for each reform.
